The Bridge
by WithAnAngel
Summary: AU. It wasn't supposed to happen. I never meant for it to end this way. It was an accident. Only difference is, people usually don't die because of ones mistake. In my case, someone did die. And now, she is haunting me. It was just a accident...
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **Hey everybody! Wow, it has been so so so long since I last posted a story here. So now I did. Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!! Ok, -ahem- so I read this amazing, incredible story by this awesome author who goes by the name of **snozboz**. Now, that story was so good, that I wrote my own version of it. It's pretty much the same, only a little more descriptive and changed slightly so that it would match with the Danny Phantom series. And I really wanted to post it, because it is such a good story, so I sent snozboz a message asking if I could post my story here, since it was her story to begin with. And she let me, so here I am, posting my version of her story. So I guess what I'm really trying to say is,

**Disclaimer**; THIS STORY DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. THIS IS A RE-WRITTEN VERSION OF **snozboz'**s STORY, GOOSEBUMPS: THE BRIDGE. TO SEE THE ORIGINAL STORY, PLEASE GO TO **snozboz**'s LOOKUP. (: (:

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**The Bridge**

Chapter One

It wasn't supposed to happen. I never meant for it to end this way. I'm sitting here in a corner of my room, huddled up into a small ball. A strand of my long black hair falls into my face from behind my ear. I brush it back.

It was an accident. She didn't deserve it. She was a great friend. Loyal. Cheerful. Sarcastic. But I know she's dead now. Lying at the bottom of the river, her eyes blank. Lifeless. An empty shell of a body. I know it won't be long until they find her. Find me.

I remember exactly what happened. It's so clear to me, so vividly clear. I close my eyes and my memory instantly plays that video. Over and over again. Replaying it.

_-Flashback-_

"_Hey, look at this! I found a little stream!" _

_I begin to walk over to her, but she holds up a hand to stop me. She explains that the rocks are sharp and slippery. I nod, completely ignoring her. She's not important enough to listen to._

_Nevertheless, I carefully make my way over to her. We stand there, looking at the trickling stream. Trees tower over us, partly blocking out the sunlight. A few small squirrels scamper up the trees, chattering excitedly to one another. It's so peaceful here._

"_Cool. Look at that bird." She points to a pretty blue bird resting on a branch near us. _

_I nod. Suddenly, she gazes at the river and jumps across the slippery rocks. A few seconds later, she's standing on the other side of the river, waiting for me with an almost uncharacteristic patience. I know she wants me to follow her._

_I do, and then I'm on the other side with her. She walks away from the river onto a worn dirt path. I wrinkle my nose at the thought of walking on it with my new shoes._

_But, I do. We laugh and joke about people from our school, the geeks in particular, as we walk along the worn dirt path towards a small wooden bridge that crosses over a stream._

_-End Flashback-_

I know I shouldn't have done what I did next. I wish I would have known that then. Maybe I could have avoided this. I hate to think of what I did. It makes me feel so guilty. I want to disappear. Vanish off the face of the earth. I look around my room. What's to stop me?

I think back to what I did.

_-Flashback-_

_We cross the bridge. It creaks under our weight. She rushes over to the side to look over at the stream below._

_There's a small ledge connected to the bridge. She's leaning over the railing, looking out at the gentle stream. I tell her to climb over the railing and stand on the ledge. Then she'd be able to see properly._

_She looks unsure for a moment, then sighs and asks me to help her over the railing. I agree and help her over._

_She stands on the ledge for a moment. Then, she begins to walk along it, testing it. It was then that I noticed the ledge had no support._

_I jump lightly on the bridge, and she wobbles on the ledge. She catches her balance and turns to look at me. She smiles. "I am so glad I have great balance," she says._

_I laugh and question how great her balance really was. I jump on the bridge again, a little harder this time, and the ledge snaps in two like a twig._

_It collapses under her weight and she falls. I watch as she falls, unable to move, rooted to my place. She screams and reaches a hand out to grab a part of the bridge, anything that will keep her from falling. She misses. There's a splash of water, and then silence._

_I carefully walk over to the edge and gaze down. Her body is no where to be seen, but the jagged rocks are spattered with blood. _

_Suddenly, her head pops up from under the water and she screams again, pleading for me to help her. But the current is much to fast, and before I can move, she's whisked away. There was nothing I could do._

_-End Flashback-_

I should never have tested her balance. I thought the ledge was stronger. I didn't know. It was a stupid mistake. One I'll never be able to forgive myself of.

I look over at the clock on the wall. Then, my gaze drifts lower, to the door. She's there. Watching me. Grinning crookedly. Haunting me. Any minute they'll be here and she knows it. I won't be here though.

I can't stand the way she's looking at me, smiling. She knows what happened. What will happen. What I'm about to do. I can tell.

I stand up and walk over to my window. Below I can see a small forest. Weaving through the trees, I recognize the small bridge over the trickling stream. The bridge where I watched her fall less than an hour ago. Right underneath my window I can see the stone steps which lead to the pond.

I open my window. I can't believe it has come to this.

Forgive me.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** Not much to say here, except that this story isn't going to be that long. About four chapters, then the epilogue.

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**The Bridge**

Chapter Two

My leg muscles tense, preparing for the jump. Suddenly, I feel arms wrap themselves around my waist. I twist around to see my mom holding me, tears in her eyes.

I smile weakly at her and rest in her arms, but my smile disappears when I notice _her_ standing in a corner of the room, glaring at me.

My mom pulls away and quietly closes the window. I stand next to her, wishing. Wishing things had been different.

I glance at my mom and she smiles softly at me. She takes my hand and leads me downstairs. We sit in the living room. My mom looks into my eyes.

I try to look away but when I do, I see _her_ leaning against the sofa, thinking. Planning. I can tell by the glint in her eyes that I'm not the only one who wished things had been different.

My mother begins to talk to me. Her voice is kind of choked, and I'm trying to hear what she's saying. But, it doesn't sink in. She's talking to me about safety. Like I care. Though I'm glad she doesn't know what happened, or why I was at the window in the first place.

I stare straight ahead, occasionally nodding. Finally, my mom stops talking and simply looks at me. She takes hold of my hand. "Do you understand, mi hija?" She asks softly. I nod and she lets me go.

I wander outside to the massive pond. I look around me as I get nearer. Moss is growing out of the earth, along with a variety of pretty wildflowers. The grass sways gently in the breeze. I can see myself in the pond, I can see my reflection, but I don't recognize myself. My face is gaunt and my cheeks are flushed. My cerulean eyes seem distant and far away. My once pretty, long, silky hair is matted against my face, slightly sticky from perspiration. I jump back as a frog jumps into the pond, sending ripples throughout the water.

I look behind me. My mom is in the kitchen, cooking. She doesn't seem to notice what I'm doing. But I can tell she's worried.

I turn back to the pond and jump back in surprise when I see _her_ in front of me.

"What do you want?" I ask.

"Revenge," she replies coldly, a gruesome smile spreading across her pale face. I begin to back away but she walks around me, causing me to turn around. She takes a step forward; I automatically step back.

_Splash._

My foot hits the cold water. I take a sharp intake of breath as I realize how cold it is. Then she's in front of me, sneering at me. She reaches out. Her hand is inches away from my pink shirt. I stumble backwards. And trip.

My body falls into the water. I start to sink as my clothes grow heavy, dragging me down. I struggle to breathe, but the sheer cold surrounds me. Suffocating me. I try to make my way back to the surface. I swallow some water and begin to splutter.

As I near the top, I can see her distorted reflection from under the water. Watching me. Smiling.

I try to scream but only end up swallowing more water. I try to break the surface but my jeans are caught on something. Damn underwater plants.

I tug at my pant, using more energy than I should. My arms grow weak and heavy. I begin to sink down. I never realized how deep this pond was.

The darkness surrounds me, crushing me. I gasp weakly for air but only end up swallowing more murky water.

The water swallows me and my world is starting to go black. Is this the end?


	3. Chapter 3

**The Bridge**

Chapter Three

The only thought rushing through my mind is getting free. I can't let her win. I can't let her have her way. I had to survive. I tug once more at my jeans and the plant finally releases it's grip on me.

But I'm too tired to struggle any more. My mind is screaming at my body to react, to get out of the water, but my body doesn't seem to want to respond. Images of my life are flashing before my eyes. I hit the rocky bottom and then my world goes dark.

A few seconds later, I'm vaguely aware that someone is pulling me out of the water. They set me on the bank and start pumping my chest. I want to tell them to stop. It hurts. I open my mouth and splutter water out.

Suddenly I was breathing. I coughed more water out and took in deep breaths. The air burned my throat and my lungs seemed to want to reject it. But I forced more air in. I coughed a few more times before opening my eyes. My mom stood there, leaning over me. Her brows were knitted together in worry, but they relaxed as she noticed I was okay. She stopped pumping my chest.

I turn my head and see _her_ at the edge of the pond. She seems annoyed. I know it's not over. I know she's still panning revenge.

For now, I decide to ignore her. I try to get up, using my hands and arms to push me up. I manage to walk a few steps when the world tilts beneath me. I collapse to the floor.

My mom is at my side in an instant, helping me to my feet. After a few practice steps, she decides I can walk without help. She lets me go, but stands beside me. Just in case.

My clothes are filled with water and weighing me down, but I manage to get inside my house. My mom must be in her zone. She rushes here and there, bringing me a towel and some dry clothes. Then she offers me some hot cocoa. I sit down at the kitchen table and sip it. My mom watches me out of the corner of her eye but asks no questions.

--

That night I lie in bed, wondering about the day's events. I'm grateful my mom had just happened to look out the window when I fell in. If she hadn't...I shudder just thinking about what may have happened.

I close my eyes, attempting to forget about it for now.

"I'm not going to go away."

I'm startled by the voice. My eyes spring open and I sit upright in bed. _She's_ sitting at the end of my bed, looking around the room without interest. She grins when she notices me awake.

"Let's do something fun," she says.

"Fun?" I repeat.

"Yeah. Follow me," she answers, her voice calm and friendly. No sign of any threat there. But I don't believe her. I laugh and close my eyes instead, snuggling myself into my bed. A loud crash makes me open them again.

I see my lamp shattered to pieces on the floor at her feet.

"Oops," she mutters, staring down at the broken glass.

"What are you doing?" I growl.

She ignores my question. "Follow me," she repeats instead. When I close my eyes again, she drops another object on the floor. The crash echoes in my head.

"I can keep this up all night," she says.

I glare angrily at her. "No, you can't. My_ papa_ will hear you. He'll come and see what's making all the noise."

She lets out a hoarse laugh. "Noise? The only one who hears the crashes are you and me."

She picks up another object off my nightstand. "Still not willing?"

I sigh in defeat and lower my tired body to the floor. I throw on some jeans and a jacket and grab my house keys. Then I follow her out the door, down the stairs, out the kitchen and into the crisp Autumn air outside.

I follow her silently to a nearby park. Unsure of what to do, I sit on a swing. She watches me silently nearby.

After a few minutes, she steps forward. She smirks at me, then raises her hand up as if saying "stop". I feel the swing start to vibrate. Before I can piece together what's happening, the swing has ejected me and I'm on the damp grass. I groan in pain.

"No more swings," she says. Then, she orders me up. I force myself up, wincing at the pain shooting down my back and the scratches on my arm.

"What did you do?" I ask once I'm up.

She smiles. "A little ghost trick. But that's not important," she says quickly. "Let's play tag."

"Fine," I agree, not really wanting to anger her. Before I know it, she was it and I had to run away from her. I raced around the park a few times, often screeching to a halt when she simply materialized in front of me. As I ran around the park, I noticed the front gates. I looked behind me. She wasn't there.

I ran out the front gates and onto the sidewalk, hoping I could lose her. I turn around and see her following me, her blonde hair flying behind her. I sped up my pace and ran faster. I quickly checked to make sure there were no cars before crossing the street. I was almost to the other side when she materialized in front of me, a scowl on her face.

I could have probably run right through her, but the thought didn't occur to me. I stopped and turned around, running back toward the park.

Too bad I didn't see the car until it was too late. I froze in the middle of the road as the harsh white light washed over me. I held my hands up to my face, as if to shield myself from the glare of the lights. The last thing I remember was seeing her grin as the car hit me and sent me flying across the street. I landed with a sickening splat and then my vision blurred.

I heard the car screech to a stop and the driver's door open. I heard the footsteps and worried voices. Then, my world went dark.


	4. Chapter 4

**The Bridge**

Chapter Four

I awoke but kept my eyes tightly shut. Even through my closed eyelids I could see the warm light. I slowly opened my eyes and was surprised to see a girl standing in front of me. Her blonde hair was a bit disheveled, her aquamarine eyes unreadable. It took me a minute to realize who she was.

"You!" I screamed and jumped back.

"Me," she repeated calmly. She grabbed me by my elbow and began to lead me to a forest.

"I..what's happening? Where are we?" I asked. She ignored me, so I continued. "I...I remember the car. It..hit me."

I swallowed. My throat felt very dry. I realized I couldn't remember much. My memory seemed short. I remembered the main points of my life, like losing my first tooth, but everything else was a blur. I struggled to remember my mom. Was she blonde? Black haired? A red-head?

I felt an odd emotion as well. Pain. Sadness. Joy. Love. I didn't understand. None of it made any sense.

Suddenly, we stopped. I looked around and noticed a small wooden bridge over a trickling stream. As I stared at the bridge, emotions flooded into me. I felt happiness, followed by shock and worry. I felt frightened, as if I should run away. But I couldn't move. I couldn't force myself to run, so I stood there, staring into the light eyes of the girl in front of me.

"How do you feel?" she demanded.

"Different. I don't know. Why?"

"Do you know where we are?" She asked.

"No...should I?"

She sighed. "I know it's hard to remember things. I had that same problem."

"I...I don't understand."

She laughed and let go of my elbow. She walked over to the bridge and stood there, leaning against the railing, watching the smooth flow of the water.

"Have you not figured it out yet?" She asked softly.

"Figured what out? What's going on?" I felt my voice rise. I followed her on the bridge. It groaned as it supported both our weight.

She turned to me, her face unreadable. "You're dead," she said simply.

I stood there, rooted in place. Well, that was a surprise. It wasn't what I was expecting, and certainly not what I wanted to hear.

"Dead?" I repeated faintly.

She nodded. When she spoke, her voice sounded angry. "I bet you don't even know why we're here."

I shook my head. Her eyes blazed with hatred. "I died here," she said through gritted teeth. "It's all your fault! You made the bridge wobble, and you made me die!"

"I...I'm sorry!" I cried out. I began to back away as she advanced. I felt my back hit the other railing. "I didn't mean to make you die! It was an accident!"

She didn't answer. Her eyes softened a bit and she turned around and walked off the bridge. She found a tree stump and sat on it, her face in her hands.

I followed her off. I leaned against a tree a little ways away from her. "So, what happens now?" I dared to ask.

She raised her head. "I don't know. We're stuck here until we can find a way to move on."

"Move on? I read once that sometimes people won't move on because something is keeping them in this world."

"I was still here because of you," she muttered. "I wanted to hurt you, and I did. But, I still haven't moved on and neither have you."

She reached for a pebble lying near her. Her translucent hand went through it. She growled and concentrated. Then, she picked up the pebble and threw it into the stream, watching the ripples the pebble created.

"Well, maybe that's not what's keeping you here," I suggested.

She turned to look at me with a scowl. "Then what is?"

I hesitated. "Maybe...we need to forgive each other and make peace."

She raised an eyebrow. "Make peace?"

"Yeah," I urged. "I'm really sorry for what happened, and, well, I'm dead now, so...we're even. We were such good friends before, and I _know_ you remember what that felt like."

She sighed. "Yes, I remember," she admitted. "I'm sorry as well." She stood up and walked over to me. I was quite surprised that she had accepted my apology so quickly. I was even more surprised when she pulled me into a hug. I hugged her back, and it was like nothing had ever happened.

A white light suddenly shone over our heads. We broke apart and looked up. This was it. I could feel it. We were moving on.


	5. Chapter 5

**The Bridge **

Epilogue

Ten years later and the bridge is still standing with the peaceful stream still trickling below it. The trees around it are still alive. The leaves still rustle in the cool summer breeze and the sun shines through the gaps, casting shadows on the earth below.

The place has been untouched for years and the animals happily move around it without the worry of any humans.

Twigs snap and the sound of laughter echoes through the trees, causing the animals to stop and listen. For the first time in ages, it would seem that the animals are not alone. A creaking sound is heard, then the sound of two girls talking. The animals nearby scurry off and the birds fly to the safety of their nest.

More laughter is heard, followed by the creaking sound. Footsteps are heard kicking up the dust from the worn dirt path, then the place is silent once more, except for the cool breeze and the gentle gurgle of the stream.

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**Author's Note: **Well I hope you liked it! Remember, this story is not my own, so don't give me any credit! All of the credit should go to snozboz. Thanks so much to you, snozboz, for letting me post my version!

By the way, to any of you who are still confused, the main character in this story, the black haired girl, is Paulina. Not Sam. Paulina. And of course, Paulina's best friend ever, the second main character, the blond girl, is Star. (:


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